China has displayed its willingness to play war games with the US after Beijing sent a nuclear capable bomber over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Pictures tweeted by the People's Liberation Army Air Force show the country's latest H-6K bomber flying high above the island in the South China Sea.

The move comes in the wake of a series of similar patrols in recent months carried out by the US using B-52 bombers.

Pictures tweeted by the People's Liberation Army Air Force show the country's latest H-6K bomber flying high above the island in the South China Sea

Huangyan Dao, known in English as Scarborough Shoal, is disputed with the Philippines and is seen as a particular flashpoint

Images of the Chinese bombers, which are capable of delivering nuclear weapons across Asia, were posted along with the message: 'Some photos brought by PLA Air Force: bomber H-6K fly over Huangyan Island.'

Tensions are high in the region after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague last week ruled that there was no legal basis for Beijing's claims to much of the sea, embodied in a 'nine-dash line' that dates from 1940s maps and stretches close to other countries' coasts.

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Manila - which lodged the suit against Beijing - welcomed the decision but China dismissed it as a 'piece of waste paper'.

Huangyan Dao, known in English as Scarborough Shoal, is disputed with the Philippines and is seen as a particular flashpoint.

Earlier today, a senior Chinese admiral said freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end 'in disaster' - a warning to the US after last week's ruling.

Images of the Chinese bombers, which are capable of delivering nuclear weapons across Asia, were posted along with the message: 'Some photos brought by PLA Air Force: bomber H-6K fly over Huangyan Island'

China has refused to recognise the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines.

It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for adherence to the decision.

China has repeatedly blamed the US for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims, of which China's is the largest.

The United States has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.

A Chinese navy officer pulls the hat over a member of a honour guard during a welcome ceremony for US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, at the Chinese Navy Headquarters in Beijing today

U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson (centre left) is escorted by Commander of the Chinese Navy, Admaral Wu Shengli (centre right) during a welcome ceremony in Beijing

China's Maritime Safety Administration said on Monday that an area just off the east of the island province of Hainan would be a no-sail zone from July 19-21 while military drills take place.

China generally describes its exercises in the South China Sea as routine.

China's air force also said on its microblog it had recently carried out 'normal battle patrols' over the South China Sea involving bombers, spy planes and flying tankers, including over Scarborough Shoal.

Such air patrols would become 'a regular practice' in the future, Xinhua news agency reported an air force spokesman as saying.